Caramel Corn

Name
Obba Babatundé

Known For
Acting

Birthday
1951-12-01 (75 years old)

Place of Birth
Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Biography

Obba Babatundé (born December 1, 1951) is an American actor of stage and screen, known for his Emmy-nominated performance in the television movie Miss Evers' Boys, a NAACP Image Award-nominated performance in the TV movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, and a Tony Award-nominated role for his performance as C.C. White in the original cast of the 1981 Broadway musical Dreamgirls.

Babatundé was a protege of Sammy Davis, Jr., who said of him, "This is the only cat who can do everything I can do." Babatundé does dance, sing, play instruments, execute impersonations, including his portrayal of Davis, aided by their similarity in energy, size and talent, tap dancing and performing on multiple instruments. In fall 2009, Babatundé played Davis in the title role of "Sammy: Once in a Lifetime," a world premiere musical at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego.

Early in 2000, Babatundé partnered with writer/producer Ruth Adkins Robinson for a series of TV projects including "TV in Black: The First 50 Years," "Oscar's Black Odyssey: From Hattie to Hallie" and "Dorthy Dandridge: An American Beauty". The pair have projects that will take them through 2011.

His TV roles have often portrayed authority figures, such as a recurring guest-starring role as a high school principal on Dawson's Creek, an appearance as a judge in a two-part episode of Any Day Now, and as the father of the main characters on Half & Half. He also played Harvard college Dean Cain in the movie How High, as well as the role of Willie Long in the movie Life, and co-starred as an attorney in Philadelphia and as a senator in the 2004 reprise of The Manchurian Candidate. He also played the director in season 3 of Friends in an episode titled "The One with All the Jealousy". Other TV shows he has had recurring roles on include The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Chicago Hope, Rocket Power, Static Shock, and Karen Sisco. He played a small but pivotal role as a doorman/bellhop in the film That Thing You Do! and also appeared in The Wild Thornberrys Movie as the voice of Boko. He played a famous producer known as Gordy Berry on two episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In the 1998 miniseries, The Temptations, he played the founder of Motown Records Berry Gordy.

Babatundé is adept at American sign language and had used this talent in many roles including on one NYPD Blue.

His recorded work includes a performance with the New York pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs on the 2007 album Sack Full of Dreams. The actor/producer is also an avid horseman and is a highly regarded rider and trainer in the Rodeo Circuit, including the annual Bill Pickett Rodeol.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Known For

Movies

Tv Shows

1991 The Silence of the Lambs as TV Anchor Man
2004 After the Sunset as Zacharias
2006 Material Girls as Craig
1999 Life as Willie Long
2001 How High as Dean Carl Cain
2008 The Eye as Dr. Haskins
1996 Multiplicity as Paul
1993 Undercover Blues as Sawyer
2018 City of Lies as Chief of Police
2004 The Manchurian Candidate as Senator Wells
1990 Miami Blues as Blink Willie
2009 I Do... I Did! as Mr. Johnson
Soon Start Without Me as Leo
2022 The Millennial as Mr. Burke
1996 Soul of the Game as Cum Posey
1999 Introducing Dorothy Dandridge as Harold Nicholas
2011 Trapped: Haitian Nights as Ikliff
2001 One Special Moment
1988 God Bless the Child as Raymond Watkins
2011 Joy Road as Dr. Howard Perkins
1997 Miss Evers' Boys as Willie Johnson
2007 King: Man of Peace in a Time of War as Narrator
2013 Dolls of Voodoo as Iklif
1987 Leonard Part 6 as Bongo Drummer
1993 Philadelphia as Jerome Green
1995 Fatal Pursuit as Trinidad
2009 Black Dynamite as Osiris
1996 That Thing You Do! as Lamarr
2017 Pup Star: Better 2Gether as Big Ears (voice)
2016 Pup Star as Big Ears (voice)
2023 Noble Intentions as Pastor Stevens
2004 The Notebook as Band Leader
2015 American Bad Boy as Pastor Lovely
1995 Born to Be Wild as Interpreter
1996 The Cherokee Kid as Isom Dart
2012 The Last Fall as Larry Armstrong
2011 The Trap Door as Mesmer
2015 Death's Door as Mesmer
2012 Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire as Vampire Actor #4 (voice)
Soon People Not Places
1993 Necronomicon as Paul
2012 Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups as Mayor Denny
1992 The Importance of Being Earnest as Lane
2002 Redeemer as Charles Henderson
2016 The Watcher as Stark
1996 The Tomorrow Man as Brian Parish
2001 The Visit as Tony
2004 TV in Black: The First Fifty Years as Self
2007 Cover as Attorney Miller
2004 Kangaroo Jack: G'Day, U.S.A.! as Chief Ankamuti (voice)
2015 If I Tell You I Have to Kill You as Jonathan Black
1980 Baryshnikov on Broadway as Dancer
2018 Kinky as Mr. Bernard
1988 Married to the Mob as The Face of Justice
2018 Jingle Belle as Charles Williams
2008 Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History as Self
2018 Revival! as Nicodemus
2014 Lap Dance as Roscoe
2003 Dorothy Dandridge: An American Beauty as Host
1999 The Apartment Complex as Chett
2011 All Star Superman as Judge / Bibliobot (voice)
2017 'Til Death Do Us Part as John Harris
1982 Treemonisha as Zodzetrick
2006 The Celestine Prophecy as Miguel
1994 M.A.N.T.I.S. as Cornell
2020 Trigger as Chief Keaton
2007 April Fools as Detective Combs
2002 John Q as Sgt. Moody
1996 Carpool as Jeffery
1980 An Evening with Liza Minnelli as Self - Dancer
1995 The Net as FBI Agent (uncredited)
2025 Run as President
2024 Mississippi Scholar as Reginald
2025 Wrong Place, Wrong Time as Captain Green
2009 Why Am I Doing This? as Cliff
2020 Kiss Me for Christmas as Mr. Porter
2025 The Christmas Showdown as Jesse
2022 All The Men In My Life as Simon Helms
2025 Love the Skin You're In as Arnold
2002 The Wild Thornberrys Movie as Boko (voice)
1995 A Reason to Believe as Prof. Thurman
1991 Dead Again as Syd

1994 Friends ( 1 episode ) as Director
2015 Chicago Med ( 1 episode ) as Dr. James Coleman
1994 Chicago Hope ( 2 episodes ) as Charles Ellis
1999 Family Law ( 1 episode ) as Philip Hamilton
2000 Static Shock ( 1 episode ) as Watch Store Salesman (voice)
2000 Static Shock ( 1 episode ) as Singer (voice)
2018 Forever ( 2 episodes ) as Gregory
2016 Goliath ( 3 episodes ) as Ivan Tillinger
1989 Tales from the Crypt ( 1 episode ) as Lieutenant Jamison
2005 Grey's Anatomy ( 1 episode ) as Dan Gates
2006 Psych ( 1 episode ) as David Gaffney
1998 Dawson's Creek ( 8 episodes ) as Howard Green
2014 Kingdom ( 3 episodes ) as Detective Gaines
1995 The Outer Limits ( 1 episode ) as Dr. Joseph Lennox
1990 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ( 2 episodes ) as Gordy Berry
2000 Max Steel ( 1 episode ) as (voice)
1998 The Temptations ( 2 episodes ) as Berry Gordy
2017 S.W.A.T. ( 26 episodes ) as Daniel Harrelson, Sr.
2017 The Good Fight ( 1 episode ) as Danny Quinn
1987 A Different World ( 1 episode ) as Frank Benning
2015 Ballers ( 1 episode ) as J.D. Pritchard
1995 Sliders ( 1 episode ) as Cezanne Brown
2018 For the People ( 1 episode ) as Philip Kaws
1993 The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. ( 1 episode ) as Mongoose
2017 Dear White People ( 4 episodes ) as Dean Fairbanks
1992 The Human Factor ( 1 episode )
2002 Everwood ( 1 episode ) as Jason
2014 Enlisted ( 1 episode ) as General Murray
2020 Little Fires Everywhere ( 2 episodes ) as George Wright
1994 Touched by an Angel ( 1 episode ) as Carter Evans
2007 Private Practice ( 1 episode ) as Dr. Larry Cannon
1992 Hangin' with Mr. Cooper ( 1 episode ) as Jameson Walker
1997 Spy Game ( 1 episode ) as Lieutenant Wardell
2003 NCIS ( 1 episode ) as Joe Banks
2014 Madam Secretary ( 1 episode ) as President Silvanus Fabre
2000 Girlfriends ( 1 episode ) as Attendant
2004 Boston Legal ( 2 episodes ) as Dr. Victor Rivers
2007 Saving Grace ( 1 episode ) as Doc
1986 Matlock ( 1 episode ) as Backstage Man
2017 Detroiters ( 2 episodes ) as Mr. Duvet

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